The present invention relates to a polymer composition comprised of gellan, carrageenan and mannan gums and a process for producing flexible films for encapsulation comprising the gellan, carrageenan and mannan gum composition. Advantageously, soft capsules of the above composition are produced using the novel process.
The art reveals that processes and compositions for encapsulation or producing soft capsules generally are composed of gelatin or animal based gels. Soft capsules have primarily been made from low bloom gelatin which melts at low temperatures so that in the manufacturing process two sheets of gelatin are sealed simultaneously with the filling of the capsule. There is a need, however, for producing soft capsules containing liquid or solid contents selected from food or nutritional supplements including vitamins or minerals and the like wherein the capsules are edible and derived from non animal based sources and the capsules can be produced on the existing machinery which is utilized to produce the gelatin based capsules and films. Various polysaccharides and various processes for making them and using them are known. See: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,326,052; 4,326,053; 4,377,636; 4,385,123; 4,647,470; 4,746,528 and 5,112,445. U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,528 describes combinations of gellan, xanthan gum and a galactomannan and/or glucomannan gum used to produce elastic gels. U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,470 describes blends of low-acetyl gellan gum with xanthan gum and locust bean gum, konjak, tara or cassia gums which are useful for modifying the brittleness of gellan food products. Gelled food product compositions comprising blends of gellan gum/K-carrageenan gum and mannan gums in weight ratios of about 80:20 to 10:90 of K-carrageenan to mannan and about 95:5 to 20:80 of gellan gum to (K-carrageenan/mannan) are known. See GB 2219803 A.
The art also reveals that heretofore many of the film-forming water soluble materials have high melting temperatures and/or decompose at melting temperatures thus rendering them unsuitable for producing non-animal based capsules. There is an additional need to provide soft capsules which may be utilized to encapsulate bath oils and the like wherein the capsular material is composed of non-gelatin based sources and is water soluble. There is an additional need for novel processes related to the production of non-animal based soft capsules or flexible films such as those claimed and disclosed in the present invention. The present invention therefore satisfies the need for producing capsules wherein the particular non-animal derived compositions comprise suitable material which has the essential low melting and stability characteristics of the animal derived gelatins and thus can be produced on existing capsule machinery.